The Curse of Er’Mah’Gerd Review.
Adventure Written By: David Michael Williams.
Produced By: ONE MILLION WORDS
Available on DriveThruRPG.com here.
It’s a good almost mini campaign. I’m not even sure where to start without dropping any spoilers. David Michael Williams is no stranger to writing excellent fiction, but this is his first foray into publishing an RPG product. Obviously this author is no stranger to the Fifth Edition of the World’s Most Popular RPG.
Full disclosure: I was gifted a review copy of this adventure. I have not been paid or given any product in exchange for this review. Big thanks to David Michael Williams for sending me this module.
If it’s not obvious from the title, this adventure is packed with humor. The play style is similar to that of D&D only with a much more humorous bent. The pregenerated player characters (collectively known as the Good Company) have their own special classes based on the 5E SRD. Instead of the character classes we all know and love, there are classes such as the Edge Lord and the Clerogue. Did I mention one of the characters is a Minotaur?
Even the PC’s spells have been changed up to be more hilarious. We get spells such as Epic Dermis, Zzzip, and Unhappy Feet just to name a few. The magic items carried by the group are equally funny. Not gonna lie, I’m probably going to borrow a couple of these items for my 5E game if it ever resumes. They’re very well written.
Easter eggs and references to other sci-fi, fantasy and gaming icons abound. Star Wars, World of Warcraft, and even Warhammer 40,000 references pop up in this thing. I was in tears at one point just going through this thing. Too funny! Or, funky, perhaps.
The adventure itself lays out like a convention game or one-shot would. Pregenerated characters, a pretty straightforward set of plot options without being to railroad-y, and characters that are fully playable right out of the gate. The whole thing is also incredibly new player and new DM/GM friendly with only a short amount of prep time needed to learn the module itself. With three different paths to choose from, it’s bound to not play the exact same way twice.
Another unique bonus is if the players like Mezzo-Earth, they can keep going with the characters presented in what is bound to be a fairly entertaining sandbox full of adventures. There is even a detailed pantheon of deities and enough material to continue after the Big Bad is defeated. I could also see the BBEG having relatives around. I don’t want to spoil any of the jokes, but there is so much comedy gold in this adventure.
I often say art sells books in the TTRPG industry. The Curse of Er’Mah’Gerd is certainly one of those products with outstanding artwork. Wyatt Knoll and Gwendolyn Williams did an absolutely astounding job with the character and NPC illustrations. Lord Grimdark the Edgelord is probably my favorite character of the PCs. I can’t say what my favorite monster is without blowing a major story moment, but the art made me fall off my chair laughing and the plot leading up to it is the best kind of painful. Let’s just say if the group runs into the monster in question, they will have seen enough for one day, and it will be time to go home. Even the most basic NPCs such as the Ruffians are so well drawn.
There is also a novel that goes along with the module. If you like the adventures of Sir Larpsalot and Good Company, you can find a copy wherever fine fantasy books are sold online. I recommend checking it out as well.
Without any spoilers, if your group doesn’t mind a little rated PG humor, this adventure has it all. I would estimate it will take most groups more than one four hour session to complete. Of course, everyone’s mileage may vary depending on how much time is spent rolling on the floor. You can learn more about the adventure overall in this blog post here. I highly recommend taking a look at it.
Thank you for stopping by. I have many more reviews lined up. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last we see of Good Company or the fine team at One Million Words.
Jeff's Game Box 